Articles on Pope Francis I

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Mother Teresa will become a saint on Sunday, on the basis of two miracles of healing. But let's not remove our thinking caps and go all medieval: we should be wary of uncritical endorsement of claims to the miraculous.

On Wednesday, the White House announced that the United States would resume diplomatic relations with Cuba in a deal that was brokered with a great deal of help from the Holy See. A statement released…

Will there be brotherly love in Philadelphia next September?
Giampiero Sposito/ReutersDecember 1, 2014

In late November, the Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis is going to visit the United States of America for the World Meeting of Families that will take place in Philadelphia at the end of September 2015…

They are listening but whose side are they on?
Max Rossi/ReutersOctober 21, 2014

An extraordinary two weeks in Rome ended Saturday with a standing ovation. Pope Francis had invited 191 bishops and clergy to the Synod on the family to speak their minds on issues such as divorce, premarital…

Pope Francis flew over China on his way to South Korea late last week, where the Catholic Church has seen rapid growth in the last decade. Papal custom is to send a telegram to the leaders of nations over…

Pope Francis argues that the poor are at the heart of the Gospel and it’s the communists who have ‘stolen the flag’.
EPA/Nicola LaneseJuly 21, 2014

A blog in The Economist recently accused Pope Francis of following the founder of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin, in adopting an “ultra-radical line” on capitalism. The blog, “Francis, capitalism and…

The idea may seem ‘old-fashioned’, says Pope Francis, ‘But look out because the devil is present! The devil is here … even in the 21st century!’
EPA/Maurizio BrambattiMay 28, 2014

Pope Francis’ discussion of the devil (or Satan) has been greeted with surprise by many. Why would a “progressive” Pope speak about an “old-school”, passé topic like the devil? Has not the Catholic Church…

Pope Francis’s visit to the Middle East has been hugely significant, for both religious and political reasons. Francis hopes to encourage ongoing peaceful dialogue and co-operation between both Israelis…

John XXIII and John Paul II: most recent popes to join the ranks of saints.
Mario Fornasari/FlickrMay 2, 2014

Popes John Paul II and John XXIII were declared saints by Pope Francis last Sunday. So what were the “miracles” necessary for John Paul’s sainthood, and how likely was it they really occurred? Almost 40…

The week after Easter, Pope Francis presided over the canonisation ceremony which declared his two most famous contemporary predecessors, John Paul II and John XXIII, were now “saints”. This is an important…

Pope Francis’ journey to the Middle East will be a defining journey on the question of Catholic-Eastern Orthodox unity.
EPA/L'Osservatore RomanoJanuary 22, 2014

Pope Francis announced this month he will visit the Middle East in May this year. While it has been foreshadowed since the first weeks of his papacy, this event will place the Church’s first South American…

Pope Francis has been named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for “pulling the papacy out of the palace and into the streets”. He beat nine others including NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and Bashar…

Not since the papacy of Paul VI in the 1960s has a pope openly declared the need to rebel against unjust capitalism.
EPA/Claudi PeriNovember 28, 2013

Pope Francis has openly attacked capitalism in his recently released Apostolic exhortation, which for all intents and purposes is the Pope’s “manifesto”. While Francis has called for the radical decentralisation…

Pope Francis has made headlines recently with comments about abortion, gay marriage, contraception, work and capitalism. Francis has said that he’s “not spoken much about these things [abortion, gay marriage…